Saturday, August 16, 2014

Matt is home already?! Holy Moses time flies! I wish I could
be there next week, I love farewell and homecoming talks. Man, and Cal is
already leaving too! Its weird hearing about everyone going back to school. I
always thought summer went fast when I was in school, but this has been the
fastest summer of my life! Should summer even be in my vocabulary when it's
summer here all the time?

So this week has been super busy. I seriously don’t think I’ve
done this much teaching my entire mission! It’s awesome. We picked up 2 new
investigators last week and have an appointment to pick one up today. We’ve
also had a ton of recent convert and less active lessons, more than we usually
do. It was a great week.

So the first one we picked up was Mario. Some sisters talked
to him in the street and referred him to us. We went by with a member of our
ward and taught him the Restoration. By the end of the lesson we all weren’t
really feeling committing him to baptism, but then out of nowhere Elder
Moolenbeek, as bold as a lion, asked him if he would be baptized by someone
holding the proper authority. He thought about it for a good minute and said
yes. Just goes to show, when the spirit asks you to do something, even though it’s
hard or doesn’t seem right, you do it. He has a potential date set for the end
of this month. Then next one we picked up was a guy named Michael. He was a
pass off from the San Marcos zone leaders. He is a little into drugs and has a
few polluted views on things, but super nice friendly guy. We decided to teach
him about the articles of faith and what we believe. It went very well, he said
his view about us is completely different now than it was before and were not
as crazy as he thought we were, but were normal people.

I wish I could tell you more, but I’m out of time. I hate
not being able to tell you guys everything!!

I love you
all,

Stay true, stay
strong, and look out for one another while I’m away, alright?

This week has been a good one. We had a lot of recent
convert and less active lessons. I've been out of my area for most of the week
due to exchanges so it’s good to be back. On Friday we were doing our weekly
planning and I was looking for our phone for a guy named Erick that I had
referred to the YSA elders when I was still serving in Twin Oaks Valley and
found a number that had the name Erick on it. So I assumed that it was the
referral we gave them and ended up texting that number if we could meet up sometime,
but it wasn’t the right Erick It was another investigator from some past elders
that has been sitting in the phone for who knows how long. So we get a text
back from that number and long story short we are meeting with him tonight at 6
for a lesson. So that was really cool, inspired accident?

Not much has gone on this week. We do a lot of traveling now
since we cover the whole stake. So the work is a little different. On the
bright side we do a lot more teaching which is awesome. Finding is different,
we get a ton of referrals from many different sources and the members are good
at working with their friends and bringing them to activities. I love this ward
though, I love where I’m at right now. I hope I have more to put into my email
next week. They’ve been kind of dry and unexciting lately.

Never forget how important this gospel is. If there is one
piece of advice I can give you its to never lose sight of it. Make it a
priority in your life, and never take it for granted. We are so blessed. We have
been given so much and we need to give back. (DC25:10 - Luke 22:32)

Wednesday, August 13, 2014

Anthony you look like a stud as Iron Man, just say'n. Sounds
like the girls and Walter had a blast at camp and youth conference. They’re all
growing up too freakn fast!!! I’m jealous of Jennifer, I would kill to be at
the Ocoee and Appalachians right now.

Well I was transferred to the Palomar YSA ward, which covers
the entire Escondido Stake YSA kids from 18-30, I just hopped across the street
really. I love it! It’s super different from family work, a whole new caliber,
but it’s awesome being able to work with kids my age, especially here in SoCal.
We have a car, a 2011 Corolla, and we get to drive all around Escondido
teaching kids about the gospel. It’s pretty sweet. My new companion is Elder
Moolenbeek. He is from Ottawa Canada, he's super cool. Dude loves to sing, he's
super outgoing, and he's a stud. We get along great and have a lot of fun. We
had a baptism this weekend, a kid in the ward named Josh. He is awesome, he
referred himself to the missionaries and has embraced the gospel with his whole
heart, and the kid is a stud. I don't have too much time left, I hope I covered
all the big news.

I love you
all,

Stay strong,
stay true, and look out for one another while I’m away, alright?

Tuesday, August 12, 2014

We had dinner with the Bird family last night. They live in a super nice house overlooking all of the Escondido Valley and into the ocean. Brother Bird is retired from the FBI and was a crisis/hostage negotiator in Mexico, mainly working with the cartels down there. Anyway, he found out I was from Alabama and he told me of one time he was down doing some work in Birmingham. He went to church at one of the branches and he said when the man that got up to say the opening prayer spoke, he could've swore he said " Howdy Heavenly Father.." But then he realized he just had a really heavy southern drawl, and he actually just said " Ouwuh Deeuh Hayvuhnly Fathhuh.." haha, I thought you might think that was funny. Its cool how many people out here actually know where Huntsville is and who has been to Alabama.

Thank you for the package, I got it last week on Tuesday. I put the banner up in our living room, thanks for making that, its really cool. Thanks for all the cards and candy and money, and ties and shirts, they were all greatly needed. So thank you!!! I hope you get feeling better mom :( Let me know if I can ever do anything for you guys. I guess the assistants to the President, Elder Neal and Elder Finauer, who are serving in Vista have come into contact with Uncle Daylon. I don't really know too much else besides that. Hopefully it leads to something. They don't know that he is my uncle so next time I get the chance to see them I'll let them know.

We got transfer calls this Saturday and I will be leaving the Twin Oaks Valley Ward in the San Marcos Zone. I don't know where I'll be headed or who my new comp will be until tomorrow so I'll let y'all know next Monday.

We had somewhat of a busy week. On Tuesday we had our zone training meeting. On Thursday we had our second temple trip of the year to San Diego. It was well needed as well, I feel spiritually energized ten fold. I love the temple, I wish I could work at the one here in SD. Its so beautiful and breathtaking, I need to take you guys there some day. We had three zones scheduled to go on that day too so there was a pile of missionaries there! Our mission president went with us too, which was really really cool.

We had the sisters baptism for their investigator Angie, the Filipino lady I told you about last week. It was awesome, it was probably one of the most spiritual experiences I've had on my mission so far. Right before the ordinance her three little granddaughters got up and sang 'families can be together forever'. It was just a couple of little girls singing, but it was so powerful. When we both got into the water and I raised my hand to the square, out of nowhere emotions just came flooding over me. It was kind of hard to speak at some points during the prayer, but I soldiered through it. I don't know why, I've only met Angie a few times I didn't know her very well, but I knew that Heavenly Father was so happy that one of His children was back in the fold and that He had been waiting for that day for a long time. There is a bit of a language and culture barrier between her and the missionaries, but we know without a doubt that she felt the spirit. When she came out of the water and after we confirmed her yesterday she was in tears. I'm really happy I was able to be apart of that with her.

Well I love you all,

stay strong, stay true, and look out for one another while I'm away, alright? Ya hear!? ha ha

Wow, it has been hot the past couple of weeks. It will
probably take me a year to get rid of my preacher tan, it’s pretty bad. You and
Lizzie will do great!! Don’t worry, just trust in the Lord, pray for peace,
remember that you are among your brothers and sisters who love you, and speak
from the heart. I haven’t gotten the package, it takes a while for mail to get
anywhere in the mission, I’m sure it will get here soon though. Dad, thanks for
putting money on the card, I passed my test at the DMV and will receive my
California Driver’s License this week sometime, yeah! Ant, you make the
American flag look good when it is on your face, haha. Sounds like you guys had
a good fourth and carried on the slip n' slide tradition too!

This week was alright, are investigators keep flaking out on
us, but what can you do huh? We were able to have a good visit with Marc, one
of our recent converts, on the 4th. We stopped by, he want doing anything so he
offered to grill us up some burgers, they were super good, and we had a really
great conversation about when he was in the Marines. He told us all his sea
stories, when he was deployed, doing the Crucible march, and his antics in the barracks.
Marc is from South Africa so he's got a sweet accent too. Super cool guy.

We were able to attend the baptism of Al's roommate Josh. It
was really cool, he was with us all through Al's conversion so we’ve been able
to see him grow as well. We had to hand him over to the YSA elders to continue
his teaching, but we still see him all the time. Al told us when he went to
Josh's confirmation yesterday that two young guys, returned missionaries living
there for a job opportunity, living in their same complex talked to Josh about
the church about a year ago not really thinking anything of it. Then they both
decided to show up to church yesterday and they saw Josh. They got to talking
to him and asked " Hey man, what are you doing here?!" and Josh said,
“I actually got baptized yesterday and today is my confirmation!" needless
to say they had to pick their jaws up off the floor, haha. Imagine saying hey
to some guy on the street, going to church about a year later and seeing that
same guy you saw on the street in the front of the chapel receiving the gift of
the Holy Ghost. Crazy huh? You never know who you will influence and who needs
the gospel. It happens to the most unlikely peculiar people.

This weekend Elder Cowan and I may be helping the sisters
out with one of their investigators with baptism and confirmation. She is an
elderly Filipino lady named Angie. I may be baptizing or confirming someone for
the first time so that will be neat. I’m really excited.

Well, I love you all. I pray for you guys every night. I
hope everything is going well back on the home front.

Stay strong, stay true, and look out for one another while I’m
away, alright?

Your son, friend, and big brother,

-Elder Daniel

Al took us golfing today, it was E Cowan's fist time ever golfing, it was awesome!

That is the marine layer over the coast just over the hills, were about 15 minutes away from the ocean.. its pure torture!!

Thank you guys for all the awesome pictures. I bet y’all's
trip to Connecticut was a blast. I loved the one of everyone in front of the
temple doing the Usain Bolt that made me smile real big, haha!

So this week we weren’t able to meet with any of our
investigators, we have two on our radar right now that seem very interested and
sincere. We just haven’t been able to meet with them due to their schedules.
But like Elder Ballard has stressed you will not be able to teach your message,
no matter how good it is, without consistent, persistent follow-up. So we will
keep plugging away at them. We were able to meet with just about all of our
recent converts and less active members which doesn’t usually happen, so that
was great.

Something kind of cool that we were able to do with one of
the part members in our ward, the Kroghs, was teach their relatives from
Columbia. It was Sister Kroghs cousin, her husband, son and daughter and only
the mom spoke fluent English and Spanish. It was fun, there was lots of
translating and laughing because of the language barrier, but we made it work.
They were very curious about what we do as missionaries and so we told them all
about what we do, they said that they’ve seen guys with white shirts and ties
back home, but didn’t know who they were. And we were able to teach the first
lesson within the conversation we had with them, it was really cool. They’re
Catholic and they’re back home now, but the seed of the gospel was planted and
they know who we are and what we do now.

We had dinner with an older couple in our ward, the Slagel’s.
They live all the way back in the hills of San Marcos so Brother Slagel offered
to give us a ride back to the church after dinner. Brother Slagel is a very
wise man and a convert to the church when he was a young man, he was a
professor at the University of Florida and has been around the block a time or
two. While we were driving through the back hills he gave us some really good
advice. I'll try to summarize what he told us as best as I can, he said “Fellas,
the best piece of advice I can ever give you is to never fall away from the
church, no matter what happens. Life will get tough and throw things at you,
but never lose sight of the gospel. Trust in the Lord and live a good, righteous
life. When you get back home stay strong, be a good husband and father, serve
faithfully in the church, and take care of those you love." and then when
he shook are hands when he dropped us off he said." I'll see you guys in
heaven", haha.

I love this gospel, I love being able to share it with
everyone I meet. I love the work and am so blessed to be a part of it. I cannot
describe the joy that comes from bringing others to a knowledge of the truth,
you need to experience it for yourself.

I love you
all,

Stay strong,
stay true, and look out for each other while I’m gone, alright?

Last week on
Wednesday I hit my year mark, the mission has go by like a dream. This time
next year I will be back in Huntsville. Crazy, won’t think about it too much,
maybe it will go by slower hopefully. It’s weird going to transfer meetings,
looking up at the greenies fresh from the MTC and realizing that I was there
once, not really knowing what I was getting myself into, all wide-eyed and
tired, and now Im on the other side now sitting in the pews as a seasoned
mission vet as one of the guys they look up to..Can’t believe Chandler is already headed out
he's going to Bakersfield right? I haven’t been able to give out any CTR rings,
I keep forgetting, but I will I promise. I hope you guys are all having a great
summer. It sounds like you are.

This week I
was able to go on two exchanges. The first one I went on was with Elder
Wilkins, one of my Zone Leaders. I learn so much from him every time I am able
to serve around him. He heads out of here in two transfers and so he is doing
everything he can to make the most of his time left here in the mission. He
asked me how I could help him help the zone be more diligent. During my studies
I read the story on Enos. After he was forgiven of his sins and his prayer was
answered, he began to have a sincere desire for the welfare of his brethren. I
compared that to our zone. We have to have a desire to serve and love all those
we come into contact with and we do that by having a firm testimony in the
savior's atonement and having a love for the savior. When you have those things
your desire to be as diligent as you can be on your mission will increase.

I was also
able to go on exchanges with Elder Parker, he was one of the elders that I
started my mission with back in the MTC. We were able to teach a Hispanic man
named Carlos they had met a day before. We taught an awesome lesson on the
restoration on the curb outside his house and he loved it! One of his buddies
from work was there too, but he kind of gave us the cold shoulder when we
showed up, Carlos asked him if he wanted to join in but he pretended that he
could only speak Spanish, (they use that trick all the time all the time). I
saw he had a skateboard and he was messing around on it with Carlos's kids in
the drive way. As we were leaving I asked if I could show them all acouple of tricks, he gave me his board, I did
a kick flip and a tre flip (in church shoes) and they all got super excited,
Carlos said that made his day. Carlos's friend even started to talk to us after,
in English. haha.

We hit 113
contacts this week, more than usual and got 4 referrals for the Spanish elders
and the YSA elders.

I gotta
split,

I love you
guys!

Stay strong,
stay true, and look out for each other while I’m gone, alright?

Monday, August 11, 2014

That’s awesome that Walter is working construction now. That
will keep him busy and he will be able to work with his hands. Good for him,
tell him to save up for his mish, or just put some money away for school or for
something. That’s something I wish I would’ve been smarter about. I love the
picture you sent of us at Daniel Boone that was one of the best scout camps I
ever went on. So many memories came flooding back when I saw that picture. We
used to look like bums though, haha! Great times! I wish I could go back.

Yesterday we were able to confer the Aaronic Priesthood upon
Al and ordain him to the office of a priest. It was really neat to be a part of
that, it was the second time I was able to participate in an ordination for one
of our investigators. Right after, Al said, "Wow, well that felt
good!" haha. He always acknowledges when he feels the spirit working
through him. It’s been a big testimony builder for me, the spirit is tangible
and it is very real, and it can work through anyone.

During my studies the other day I came across the scripture
DC 11:21, which talks about how we need to obtain His word before we seek to
declare His word. I thought about that verse for a while and realized that
there are two things that you absolutely need to be an effective missionary.
One is desire and the other is testimony. If you have desire but no testimony
of this gospel or of this great work, you won’t have the spirit with you and
the spirit is absolutely essential to conversion.If you have a testimony but no desire, then
you won’t get much done if anything at all. It will be very hard for you to be
effective and you will just coast through your mission not really dedicating
your heart to anything. Those two qualities are what every missionary must have
and continue to focus on throughout their course.

The past couple of weeks I actually was praying very
fervently for Heavenly Father to help my testimony grow. To just give me
something that will help me to know that I am here for a reason and to let me
know for absolutely certain that this is the Lord's work. Things have just
gotten a bit repetitive and tough lately and I needed a little bit of lifting
up and some strength. After my prayer last night right as I hoped into bed Elder
Cowan asked me if I could give him a blessing. He was called to be a district
leader last transfer and has been struggling a little bit. It was a little odd,
I’ve never given my companion a blessing by myself let alone right as I hoped
into bed at 10:30 at night. I put my hands on his head and began to speak, as I
did I started to feel very warm and different, and as I continued on with the
blessing I was saying things that I never would have thought to say. It was all
from Heavenly Father, I know that it wasn’t from me. I think that was an answer
to my prayer, I was about to go to sleep a little discouraged and forgotten,
but He allowed me to exercise my priesthood and confirmed to me that the
Priesthood is a very real thing and that that authority has been restored. He
gave me a little tender mercy by letting me serve someone else to let me know
He was there and that I am here for a reason and that this is very much in,
every aspect, His work.

At a recent zone training meeting I went to, one of the ZL's
shared a quote by Boyd K. Packer. He said, "Oh, how foolish to stay in
prison, when the door stands open." Always remember and never forget that
our Savior has overcome all for us, we can always change, and be given strength
if we will just let Him. He is waiting to bless us.

I love you all,

Stay true, stay strong, and look out for one another while I
am away, alright?

Your son, big brother, and friend,

-Elder Daniel

The district at the lake this morning for p-day

I dont really no what to say about this one.. I was bored after planning..

Sunday, August 10, 2014

I hope there wasn’t
too much damage back home, I heard there was some bad storms down south and I
hope all of the poison oak is healing quickly. It’s weird that its summer
already, it doesn’t fell like it one bit. Over here there is no fluctuation
between seasons and I’m a missionary, so summer doesn’t have the same meaning
as it used too. And school isn’t out yet here, they don’t get out till the
middle of this week.

This week we
were able to pick up a new investigator. His name is Derek, he spent 10 years
in the marines and has been on a few deployments out to the Middle East and has
a wife and a 1 year old daughter. One of his buddies from the service found the
church and was baptized and that’s what sparked Derek's interest. He saw how
much it changed his life and he wants to be a good father and husband. We
stopped by and met with him and answered all of the questions he had about the
church. He is really fascinated that we keep food storage and that we go on
missions for 2 years. He thought it was really cool. We gave him a Book of
Mormon and he said that he is a fast reader and he would be done with it by
Thursday, so we will be stopping by to follow up with him on that. Hopefully he
will pick up the subject matter rather than speed read through the whole thing
and not get much out of it. When you really take the time to read and ponder on
its message the spirit will be able to touch your heart and testify to you of
its truthfulness. But whatever floats your boat.

Al had a
fever last Friday and was feeling pretty terrible so we were able to go give
him a blessing. We haven’t been able to teach him that much in depth about the
Priesthood so it was very good for him to experience that for himself. He
actually got better very quickly, and had us over the next night for a lesson,
and guess what we taught him about? On Sunday he was able to meet with the
bishop on receiving the Aaronic Priesthood and should be receiving it very
soon. Al seriously is the most prepared human being I have ever met to receive
the blessings of the gospel. He is amazing.

We met with a
less active member in our ward for the first time last Tuesday, his name is
Danny, we weren’t able to meet with him for a while because he was in the
slammer for a bit for reasons we don’t know. When the door opened this 20
something big Hispanic kid with long black hair and a scraggly beard answered,
a little intimidating at first, but we got to talking and found out he was a
pretty cool guy. We talked to him about surfing for a while and then about the
gospel. He hasn’t been to church in a very long time, he was even going to go
on a mission, so we will see what we can do to get him back up and active
again, super cool dude.

We were out one night last week walking around
and we saw this guy in his drive way hosing out a cooler and we asked him if he
needed any help. He told us that he was good, that he was just brewing some beer.
So we asked him how it worked and he showed us the crash course to brewing
stout. He showed us his hops and barley that he was growing in his back yard
and all the steps it takes to make his beer. He said that he trades the stuff
he brews to his buddy who is a plumber in collateral for doing work on his
house. He wasn’t interested in what we had to say, but he said we were always
welcome back for a drink on the weekend if we were ever interested, haha.
Unfortunately not any time soon.

We have
dinner with the sisters just about every night and one night last week we had
dinner with a part member family in the ward, in their backyard because the
husband wasn’t home yet. And their son Danny was practicing his baseball in the
back yard with a cardboard cylinder. He gave it one goes swing and tried to hit
the tennis ball that he was aiming for, missed, and the cardboard cylinder that
he was using broke in two and flung straight for us at the table. I felt it wiz
right past my head and sail straight for Sister Broadbent's face. I felt really
bad for her, she was probably really embarrassed, but all of us could not
contain our laughter, it was hilarious!

You guys I
know that this church is true, and I know that the work that we are engaged in
is the Lord's work. President George Albert Smith stated "When that time
comes that, when you go down into the ages of eternity that is a long time, you
will have the love and gratitude of every man and woman and child to whom you
have been instrumental in bringing eternal happiness." Isn’t that worthwhile?
Everything in this life is temporal and will all end one day, but the
relationships we kindle and the joy and happiness that we will be able to
experience with those that we have helped embrace the gospel is eternal. It
never ends.

I love you
all,

Stay strong, stay
true, and look out for one another while I’m away, alright?

Your big
brother, son, and friend,

-Elder Jon
Daniel

Gas prices in SoCal

Bishop Evans awesome back yard up in the hills

This is E. Murray, a bird bath crushed his foot during a move so he had to wear flip flops to Zone Training Meeting

We usually just drink bottled water because the water out here is kind of funky, so we are

How the heck did y’all all get poison oak?! I remember when
we took that trip to Arizona and I had to give you like 40 bucks for medicine
because your arm was about to fall off from you itching It, when you got poison
ivy. I’m sorry you guys are all itchy. That really stinks. Keep Tony on the
piano so he can be a boss at it when he gets older and get all the ladies. He's
a fast learner, I bet he'll be composing symphonies by the time I get back. That’s
so crazy that Aunt Debi and Uncle Paul showed up out of nowhere! Their trip will be an adventure
for sure. Europe is awesome, I want to go one day. I like the pic of them with
me in the middle, hah.

So this week has been great. We had Al's baptism on
Saturday. It was perfect.

Let me tell you a
little bit about Al. As missionaries one of our rules is we have to be in by 9 o’clock.
The missionaries before us were heading in for the night, tired and a little
discouraged and decided to make one last loop around the apartment complex not
expecting much because that’s what they did every night for the past 3 months
not really seeing any success. (Let me just tell you, do not ever go in early.)
They turned on to their street leading to their apartment and they saw a man at
his mail box, it was 8:55, but they decided to talk to him anyway. They started
meeting with Al and began to teach him the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. Al
was telling us his story and he told us that he normally wouldn’t start talking
to random strangers like that at night, but it just felt right. He said it was
like talking to good friends who he hadn’t seen in a very long time. It has
been the coolest thing to see the spirit work through this man and to see him
grow in the gospel. (I’ve come to learn that we really aren’t learning new
things about the gospel, we are really just remembering them.) The Elders who
started teaching him were able to come back for the baptism and one was able to
baptize him, which was really cool to see. I was one of the witnesses. When I
watched Al close his eyes and go under the water it was like it was in slow
motion, I felt something. I felt the love and the joy Heavenly Father had for
this man. He had been preparing him for a long time. We did the "half-time
show", E. Cowan and I shared the message of the Restoration with everyone
there. It was awesome because the spirit was so strong and there were a ton of
non-members at the service. It was a spiritual drop kick to the face! haha. E
Cowan confirmed him yesterday at church and I was able to stand in as well as a
few other brethren. I must have been growing numb from getting all emotional
because I haven’t been for a very long time, but when he was receiving the Holy
Ghost my heart was so full of joy for this man. I was so happy. I can’t really
describe it.

You want to know something kind of cool too? At the beginning
of the transfer I was praying so hard, asking Heavenly Father "please just
let us have one baptism, just one. If we do our part and work as hard and we
can and show you that we are really trying." And He indeed answered that
prayer, He waited till the very last day of the transfer to do it, but He
answered.

I love this work, I want to be a missionary forever. I feel
like I say that a lot, but it’s true.

I love you all, with every fiber of my being.

Stay strong, stay true, and look out for each other while I’m
away, alright?

I love the
pictures y’all sent!! Looks like y’all started off summer the right way. It’s
weird over here the kids don’t get out of school until the middle of June.

Well I'll
fill y’all in on my week. We had our Zone Conference this week in Escondido and
President Kendrick gave us some really enlightening council. He said “Those who
grew up in church are like a fish that don’t know they’re wet. Understand that
those who aren’t members don’t understand much if not anything of what you
do" He then told us the contrast between the worlds view of life and ours.
1) In the world very little if not anything is sacred, in the church all things
are sacred. 2) In the world there are no answers, in the church we have all the
answers. 3) In the world there is no eternal perspective, in the church we know
there will be a life in the eternities. 4) In the world there is a belief that
no one can change, in the church we know that anything that has ever been
broken no matter what it is in the eternities can be fixed by virtue of the
Atonement. 5) Everything in the world is course and crude, everything about the
gospel is uplifting and edifying. 6) The world is bold enough to teach lies even
though it is dangerous. The church teaches truth even though it is unpopular.
7) The world is full of gloom and despair, and we are a gospel of truth and
optimism, we look forward with faith. 8) And we believe in the Savior.

We are
planning to have Al's baptism this weekend on Saturday. I’m so excited for him.
He is one of the must humble seekers of truth I have ever met. It has been
amazing to watch this man progress in the gospel and to see how he has been
prepared to receive it. He has now objections about anything and when he makes
a decision there are no ifs, ands, or buts. He is surer about this gospel than
he has been about anything in his life. I love being a missionary and being
able to be a part of others first steps into this gospel and back to their
Heavenly Father. A mission is seriously the greatest adventure of your life,
where ever you are called.

I love you
all,

Stay strong,
stay true, and look out for one another while I'm away, alright?

-your
brother, son, and friend

Elder Daniel

P-day last week at the Safari Park

​ The Sprinter, a train that runs through our area that goes to LA and Oceanside

Sorry I wasn’t
able to email yall last week, my computer completely froze up, there were no
others open, and we had to leave, so sorry. A lot of crazy stuff has happened
this week. I don’t know if yall heard but we have had some wildfires in
southern California and most of them were in our mission. All the missionaries
in Fallbrook and parts of Carlsbad, Del Mar, San Marcos, and Escondido were
forced to evacuate. Luckily we were safe the whole time, it just missed us but,
it was super close. It was surreal walking around and just watching the flames
licking over the mountain side. Crazy stuff, I’m only used to tornadoes.

This week I
was able to go on exchanges with my MTC companion Elder Mather who is also my
zone leader now. He is one of the hardest working, Christ like, fearless,
loving, awesome, guys I’ve ever met. Every time I’ve been able to work with him
he has taught me so much. He has been the greatest example to me of dedicated
service and enjoying the journey. We were also able to have Elder Hansen come to
our area for a day. His assignment right now, for his last transfer, is to be a
traveling zone leader and work with all the elders in the mission. I’m going to
miss that tall guy, he has also taught me so much, and he was one of the first
elders I served around when I came out.

We have been
working with Al a lot lately. We set a date for him o the 31st of May and he wasn’t
too sure about it at first, he wanted to wait a few months. When he told us
that I was just sitting there going, "man, I don’t know how we can change
his mind, but he's ready now I know it." Right as I was thinking that E.
Cowan started talking, I can’t remember exactly what he said, but it was exactly
what Al needed. It was no question 100% by the spirit. After that Al just sat
there for a long time thinking, and then he said, “I don’t know why I feel so
good right now, but I feel like this is right." It was the coolest thing
ever. When you get to see the spirit working with someone, when you get to see
Heavenly Father first hand working with people and guiding them, it is the
greatest feeling ever. We took him to a baptism last night and he is super
pumped about his date now. I’m super excited for him. And yesterday a guy named
Val, from the Ukraine, randomly showed up at church and wanted to learn more.
He stayed all three hours and the ward was super awesome at taking him under
their wing. So we may be working with him soon as well.

I love the
work. I’m so grateful for the decision I made to serve a mission. I can’t
imagine my life without it.

I love you all,

Stay true,
stay strong, and look out for each other while I’m away, alright?

Your
missionaries are safe. The 9 fires burning in the area of the mission
boundaries are being vigorously attacked by fire crews both local and pouring
in from other areas. We join with others in the community offering
prayers for the safety of those prosecuting the fires.

Thirteen
companionships spent the night in member homes to avoid the heavy smoke that is
in some areas. None of the missionaries were harmed and all were able to
collect what they needed for their overnight stay. They may or may not
spend more than one night away from their apartments. The Mission
President is watching over the missionaries carefully.

Best
regards,

Sister Michaele Burris

President’s
Secretary

Subject: Fires in San MarcosDate: Thu, 15 May 2014 09:55:33
-0700

Greetings! All is well with your missionary! Our Twin
Oaks Valley ward did not have to evacuate, however two wards next to us did.
The San Marcos fire was very close to us, but on the other side of the 78
freeway. Our church building was opened for evacuation, but several families
from our ward took in people who didn't have a place to go...this morning the winds
are not as crazy, the sky is blue and it is extremely hot out. We have fires
all around us. I feel like we are in the eye of the hurricane right now! I am
hoping that the worst is over as Saturday the weather should start to cool
down! Keep our beautiful San Diego/San Marcos in your prayers!

President Kendrick is carefully monitoring the progress of the fire crews. He has determined that two companionships still need to remain housed with members tonight as a precautionary measure. All the missionaries are safe.

Evacuations in San Diego are by ZIP codes; if one corner of a ZIP code is evacuated, the entire ZIP code is evacuated. The missionaries that were evacuated were never in danger and their apartment buildings are secure. Many evacuations are due to a closure of a portion of the access road to the apartment.

Please hit Reply so that we are sure that you received this email.

If you did not receive a previous email, please check your SPAM folder.

All
missionaries are safe. On Wednesday night we had 13 companionships stay at
member homes as their apartment complexes were in evacuation zones. Thursday
night only 2 companionships stayed at member homes. We may not be at an
end for evacuations, but we will keep the missionaries safe. Heavenly
Father is aware of each of them.

None of
our missionaries were ever in danger nor were their apartment complexes in
imminent danger. All evacuated missionaries, except one companionship, were
able to retrieve their personal belongings before being evacuated. Evacuation
orders for the missionary apartments in some areas were lifted as of this
morning, but other areas may still be evacuated.

Most of
the fires in our mission are beginning to be contained. Twenty fire chiefs are working together with officials
from Cal Fire and other agencies to coordinate the firefighting effort. Eleven
helicopters, two air tankers and some bulldozers have come in to help, along
with experienced crews of firefighters from various areas in California and
other states. This is a highly coordinated fire-fighting effort, with
massive support.

We
began sending out mass emails to you all on Wednesday but soon learned that
some were not receiving them. We now think our technical issues have been
resolved and we will continue to keep you updated via email.

If you
have question please respond to this email or call the mission office at
760-941-4154 (this number contains an option to contact us for emergencies
24/7)

Thanks
for the tremendous support you offer your children as they faithfully serve.

Sincerely,

President
Kendrick

Date: Sat, 17 May 2014 14:08:21 -0700
Subject: fire update

The last
major fire in our mission is now 70% contained. Although not all evacuation
orders have been lifted. All our missionaries are back in their apartments
except for one companionship and we think it’s likely they will be able to
return later this evening.

We will keep
you updated until the last major fire is deemed 100% contained by local
authorities.

Thanks for
your support and faithfulness.

The
California Carlsbad Mission

Date: Sun, 18
May 2014 19:27:24 -0700
Subject: Sunday fire update

All
evacuations have been lifted. All missionaries are now allowed back in their
apartments.

The last major remaining fire was reported to be 85% contained as of this
morning. Likely its 100% now, but we won't know officially until tomorrow.

Thanks again
for your concern and prayers,

The Carlsbad
Mission

Date: Mon, 19
May 2014 13:24:30 -0700
Subject: Monday fire update

The last remaining large fire in our mission
is 89% contained. The authorities suspected it would be 100% contained
yesterday but it’s proving to be a little more difficult. However all our
missionaries are back in their apartments and have returned to their normal
routines.

Thanks again for your prayers on our behalf.

Date: Tue, 20 May 2014 16:07:57 -0700
Subject: Tuesday Fire Update

It appears the last remaining fire is proving
to be somewhat difficult to fully contain. Reports as of mid-day today were
that it is 93% contained

We will keep you posted until its 100%. Thanks again for
your concern and prayers.